Sofa bed



Oct. 17, 1967 N. J. GRAN 3,346,889

SOFA BED Filed April 11, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 50 INy NTOR.

fl/VmWza/m/Grnm 70 46 BY w/ w w N. J. GRAN Oct. 17, 1967 SOFA BED 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April ll, 1966 w z z 6 A f L T wk 6 m J\J 5 7 Get17, 1967 N. J. GRAN 3,346,889

SOFA BED Filed April 11, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. NORM/IN d. GRAN ATTORNEYS N. J. GRAN Get 17, 1967 SOFA BED 4 Sheets-$heet 4 FiledApril 11, 1966 INVENTOR. NORMAN d. GRAN ATTORNEYS United States PatentOffice 3,345,889 Patented Oct. 17, 1967 3,346,889 SOFA BED Norman 3.Gran, 3130 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Ill. 60614 Filed Apr. 11, 1966,Ser. No. 541,753 8 Claims. (Cl. 12)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a bed wherein thesupports for the mattress are stringers extending from the head to thefoot rails over which transversely extend flat flexible elastic bands sothat a foam rubber mattress will be rigidly supported along parallellines head to foot so as to eliminate all sagging without causingdiscomfort. The invention also relates to lowering one or more of thestringers in combination with a bolster whose face is parallel to thelength of the bed so that a depression is provided in the foam rubbermattress much the same as one has in a couch.

This invention relates to an improved construction for a sofa bed, andincludes an improvement in the construction of an ordinary bed.

This is a continuation-in-part of applicants copending application Ser.No. 309,274, filed Sept. 16, 1963 for a Sofa Bed.

A sofa bed is one which has the configuration of a sofa for sittingpurposes, i.e., a back support, and the sleeping area of a single bedfor sleeping purposes. The back support of the sofa structure isobtained by providing a removable bolster, a rectangular pillow, orstill better, by a removable bolster support and bolsters. Applicantssofa bed was particularly designed to employ a mattress without the useof any supporting spring. Applicants earliest sofa bed is shown in U.S.Letters Patent 2,894,266, dated July 14, 1959. In this patentedconstruction, the mattress rests on a solid platform. This solid surfaceavoids sag but lacks cushioning. Longitudinal rigidity is particularlyimportant.

The first object of this invention is to retain the rigidity of themattress support while at the same time providing some cushioningeffect. A feature of the present invention as applied to a bed is theprovision of rigid stringers extending longitudinally of the frame.Flexible transverse bands upon which the mattress will rest are fastenedalong the front and back edges of the frame in the plane of the top ofthe stringers and are supported on these stringers. The stringers arespaced and the tensile strength of the bands chosen so as to provide thebest cushioning qualities for sleeping. It is clear that there will beno center sag in any horizontal direction and this slight additionalcushioning makes it possible to use a thinner mattress.

The second object of this invention is to provide an improved seat. Afeature of this invention is means for lowering that stringer in the bedwhich is spaced from the front edge of the sofa by the average length ofa thigh bone, i.e., the distance from the knee to the pelvis. When thisstringer is in the lower position, the bands that support the mattresslose one of their rigid supports and the mattress along the line of thatstringer is supported solely on the bands. This tends to thrust thesitters back against the bolster and one sits more comfortably.

Another object of this invention as applied to a sofa bed is to connecta bolster support, such as that shown in applicants above identifiedpatent, to a driving means for lowering that particular stringer, orstringers, in the present construction so that when a sofa bed is usedas a bed, the stringer will be automatically in its upper position, andwhen it is to be used as a sofa, that is, with the bolster support inposition, the stringer will be in the lower position.

Two embodiments of the invention are presented in the accompanyingdrawings. In the first embodiment of FIG- URES 1 through 6, only asingle stringer is lowered out of the plane of the 'bands, and thisstringer is positioned back from the front edge of the sofa at the pointwhere one ordinarily sits. The second embodiment of the invention is thepreferred embodiment and shows all of the stringers lowered when thesofa is to be used as a couch, those stringers toward the longitudinalcenter of the frame being lowered the most.

Other objects and uses of the instant invention will be come readilyapparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the followingspecification in light of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a convertible sofa bed in an attitudefor use as a piece of furniture for sitting upon;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective View of the sofa bed shown in FIGURE 1, butwith bolsters removed, the bolster support folded back and the sidepanels swung open;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a frame portion of thesofa bed shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the sofa bed shown in FIGURE 1showing a longitudinal stringer displaced to provide aditional comfortfor the sofa bed when used for sitting;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIGURE 4 but with the sofabed shown in an attitude for sleeping;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of a base frameportion showing a mount for a pivotal longitudinal stringer;

FIGURE 7 is a portion of a cross-sectional view taken on line 7-7 ofFIGURE 5 showing a portion of a mechanism for operating the pivotallongitudinal stringer;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of theinvention;

FIGURES 9 and 10 are views, partly in section, taken along the lines 9and 10 of FIGURE 8 respectively, and showing the position of thestringers in the bed position, FIGURE 9, and the position of thestringers in the sofa position, FIGURE 10; and

FIGURE 11 is a view taken along the line 11-11 of FIGURE 9.

Referring now to the drawings, a sofa bed, generally indicated bynumeral It is shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. This is the first embodiment ofthe invention. The sofa bed generally includes a base frame 14 forsupporting a mattress. A bolster frame 12 is mounted on the back of thebase frame. A mattress 16 is positioned on the base frame 14, and abolster support 18 is pivotally mounted on the bolster frame 12. Threebolsters 20 are removably positioned on the mattress 16 and supported ina substantially upright position by the bolster support 1 8.

The bolster frame 12 includes a pair of identical sides 26 and 28. Thebolster support 18 includes a top panel 30 which is connected to thebolster frame 12 through hinge 32. A bolster panel 34 is connected atone edge to one edge of the top panel 30 through hinge 36. A pair of endwalls 22 and 24 are mounted on hinges not shown which are mounted on theside members 26 and 28. These can be opened to an angle of about 45 assuggested in FIGURE 2.

The base frame includes a pair of longitudinal side bars 38 and 40 whichare connected to each other by end bars 42 and 44. Four legs 46 areconnected at the four corners of the base frame to provide a verticalsupport for the instant device. An end brace 48 connects one pair oflegs while a second end brace 50 connects the other pair of legs as maybe seen in FIGURE 3. An interior brace 51 connects the side members 38and 40 of the base frame. The brace 51 has an offset 53 for reasonswhich will become apparent hereinafter. A plurality of longitudinalstringers 52, 54, 56'and 58 is mounted between the end members 42, and44. The longitudinal stringers 52, 54 and 58 are .fixed in position,whereas the stringer 56 is pivotally mounted to provide a disengageablesupport means for the mattress. Perpendicular to the stringers is aplurality of spring bands 69 each of which is identical in constructionto each other, and each of which is fixed in respective apertures 62 inthe longitudinal members 38 and 40. The mattress 16, which isconventional in construction, rests on the plurality of spring bands 60.

It should be noted that stringers '2 and 54 co-operate to provide afirst permanent mattress-supporting surface. Stringer 58 provides asecond permanent mattress-supporting surface. The two permanentmattress-supporting surfaces are separated by a space occupied bystringer 56. It is evident that when the stringer 56 is in an upposition, there is a substantially continuous mattress support. Whenstringer 56 is in a down position, there is a space between thepermanent mattress-supporting surface which allows the mattress to sagslightly when a load is applied.

Looking. now to FIGURE 3, it may be seen that the longitudinal stringer56, as do the other stringers, has a curved engaging surface 64, whichis engageable with the spring bands 69. The stringer 56 has one endpivotally mounted in a boss 66 which is fixed to a vertical post 68between brace 50 and end member 42. The other end of the stringer 56 isconnected to a means for selectively tilting the stringer to a downposition out of engagement with the bands 60.

A tilting device 70 is connected to the stringer 56 and the bolstersupport 18. The tilting device includes a slotted arm 72 which is fixedto the stringer 56. The slotted arm has a pin 74 extending therefromwhich is pivotally mounted in a bearing 76. The bearing 76 is in turnfixed to a vertical post 78 which extends between and is fixed to theend member 44 and the brace 48. The slotted arm contains a slot 80 whichhas slideably mounted therein a pin 82. The pin 82 is in turn fixed to apivot arm 84 which arm 84 is pivotally mounted on the brace 48, througha pivot pin '86. A tension spring 88 is connected to the pivot arm 84and to one of the legs to urge the arm away from the bolster support. Acable 90 has one end fixed to the pivot arm 84 and the other end isconnected to the bolster support. .The cable is in permanent engagementwith a sheave 92, which is rotatably mounted on the end member 26. Theend of the cable 90 is fixed to the top panel 30 adjacent to one edgethereof. Although only one tilting device is shown herein, it is evidentthat there may be a tilting device at each end of stringer 56, if it isso desired. It should be noted that the tilting device is so arrangedthat stringer 56 is locked into an up position once the position isattained. The stringer 56 may be moved to a down position only by propermanipulation of the bolster support. This feature is important in thatit prevents the stringer 56 from being tilted by movement of a person onthe mattress.

A bedding bar 96 is pivotally mounted on the base frame between the endmembers 26 and 28. The bedding bar includes an axle 9 8 with a pair ofoffset arms 101 and 103 fixed to the axle. A rod 105 is fixed to theends of the arms 101 and 103. It may be seen that the arms -1 and 103have an offset to accommodate the mattress 16.

Looking now to FIGURE 4, it may be seen that when the sofa bed 10 isused as a sofa, the longitudinal stringer '56 is in a down position,that is, the stringer 56 does not engage the spring bands 60 to providesupport for the mattress. Thus, when a person sits on the mattress 16,the person sinks down to a low position in the rear or back portion ofthe seat cushion which is the mattress. The stringer 58 with the sidemember 38 provides increased support in the front part of the seatcushion, so that a person sitting on the mattress has a feeling of beingtilted back toward the bolsters 20. A person sitting on the sofa 4 bedis in a comfortable attitude in that he does not have the feeling ofslipping forward and off the sofa.

It may be noted that the bolster panel 34 is in a down position abovethe mattress and the bolsters 20 are against the bolster panel when thedevice is used as a sofa. It'may also be seen that a cabinet is formedby the top panel 36 and the bolster panel 34 so that bedding and pillowsmay be placed in the cabinet formed by the bolster support. The beddingis mounted on the bedding rod 96 and stored conveniently in the bolstersupport.

When it is desired to convert the sofa bed from a sofa to a bed, it is asimple matter to do so. The bolsters 20 are first removed. The bolsterpanel 34 is swung on hinge 36 to fold the panel 34 against top panel 30.The

top panel is then pivoted about hinge 32 to a vertical attitude, such asthat shown in FIGURE 5. This operation removes the bolster support froma position above the mattress 16. At the same time that the top panel 30is pivoted about hinge 32, the pivoting of this panel brings theconnector 94 down toward the sheave 92 so that the cable 94) is releasedrelative to the pivot arm 84. The spring 83 pulls the arm in a clockwisedirection as viewed in FIGURES 4 and 5. The pivoting of the arm causesthe slotted arm 72 to pivot which in turn pivots the longitudinalstringer 56 until the stringer at tains a vertical attitude or upposition in supporting engagement with the bands 60 as are the otherlongitudinal stringers.

With the bolster support out of the way, the bedding arm may be movedabout its axle 98 so that bedding folded over the bedding rod may beplaced on the mattress 16. It may be seen how it is a simple matter tounfold bedding onto the mattress. The pillows are positioned on thebedding and the bed is ready for use after the bedding arm is rotatedback to its vertical position. as shown in FIGURE 5.

It may be appreciated that the mattress 16 provides a substantially flatsurface for a user. The longitudinal stringers provide adequate supportto support a person resting upon the mattress. It may also be noted thatthe loading on the longitudinal stringer 56 is such that it does nottend to pivot in either direction in view of the fact that the force isdown and in line with the rod 74 and the. tilting device locks thestringers 56 in an up position.

After the instant device has been used as a bed, it may be readilyconverted to a sofa by first bringing the bedding arm 96 down andfolding the bedding over the rod. The armis then raised to a verticalattitude, thus revealing the mattress. The top panel 30 is pivoted aboutits hinge 32 so that the pivot arm 84 is pulled in a counter-clockwisedirection against the force of spring 88, thereby pivoting slotted arm72 in a clockwise direction along with longitudinal stringer 46 todisengage the stringer from the bands 60 and thus remove support for themattress. The bolster panel 34 is brought down about hinge 36 to engagethe mattress, and the bolsters 20 are positioned against the bolsterpanel. The device is then ready for use as a conventional sofa in themanner described above.

Attention is invited to the spacing of the stringers 54, 56 and 58.Stringer 56 is spaced from the front edge of the sofa bed by the averagedistance between the inside of the knee and the center of the pelvis.Stringer 56 is centered between stringers 54 and 58 which are spaced byabout 14 or 15 inches. As shown in FIGURE 4, when stringer 56 is inlower position, any weight above that stringer will be supported solelyby the bands. The bands are not fastened to the stringers, butpreferably only at their ends. In a case where it was found desirablefor sleeping position, to positionthe stringers at half the distance,thus placing a stringer between 54 r and 56 and another between 56 and58, applicant will lower all three stringers in order to obtain thedesired comfort for a sitter. It will be appreciated thatthe number ofstringers, and their spacing, necessarily must be a function of theflexibility or elasticity of the bands and of the particular mattresswith which the sofa is to be equipped. Lowering longitudinal supportsfor a mattress, with or without bands, along a line spaced from thefront edge of a sofa may be effected in various ways.

The second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGURES 8 through 11.Herein the stringers 100, having rubber buffers 102, are mountedlongitudinally on angle irons 104 and 106, and 108 and 110. Referring toFIGURES 9 and 11, the angle iron 104 is pivoted at 112, and the angleiron 108, at 114. The angle irons 106 and 110, see FIGURE 8, at theother end of the bed are similarly pivoted. Engaging the horizontalbottom surface 116 of the angle iron 104, see FIGURE 11, is a roller 118rotatably mounted on shaft 120 carried by an arm 122 keyed to a shaft124 extending the entire length of the bed and approximately centered inthe frame 14. This shaft 124 is rotatably mounted on the base member125. This arm 122 is keyed to the shaft 124 so that rotation of the arm22 or the shaft 124 will cause similar rotation at the far end,referring to FIGURE 8, on the frame 14.

When the arm 122, referring to FIGURE 9, is in the vertical position asshown in FIGURE 9, the angle iron 104 is horizontal so that the top ofthe stringers 100 and 102 are in substantially in the plane of the topof the side rails 126 and 128. The angle iron 108 is held in the sameplane because a tongue 130 projects forwardly from the angle iron 104and engages the under side 132 of the horizontal portion of the angleiron 108. The angle iron 104 has a stop 134. Normally, a bail 136connected to a contracted spring 138 anchored to the support 140 holdsthe arm 122 in a vertical position.

Also anchored to the arm 122 is a cable 142 which is belayed over asheave 144 and anchored to a bracket 146 on the panel 148.

In FIGURE 9, the sofa bed is shown in bed position. The panel 148 israised, see also FIGURE 8, so that the air space above the entire bed isclear. In this position (the spring 138 holds the arm 122 in theposition shown so that the stringers 100 have their top surfaces in ahorizontal plane with the bands 150 above them.

When, however, one wishes to convert the bed into a sofa, the bedclothing is tossed over the bedding bar and the two panels 148 and 149are swung into the position shown in FIGURE 10. In so doing, the cable142 draws the arm 122 into the position shown, thereby allowing therails 104 and 108 (and the complementary parts at the other end of thebed) to drop below the level of the bands 150. If no one is sitting onthe sofa, the bands are sulficiently strong to hold the mattress 152level, thus giving the nice appearance shown in FIG- URE 1. When,however, a person sits on the sofa, the bands stretch until they restupon the cushion members 102 and a proper seat is obtained. It will beappreciated that the extent of the descent of the support rails 104 and108 may be varied, and will be in the case of beds which are narrowerthan the one shown. Also, the bands provide more support as they arestretched.

Although two specific embodiments of the herein disclosed invention havebeen shown and described in detail above, it is readily apparent thatthose skilled in the art may make various modifications and changeswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.Thus, some models of the design shown in FIGURES 1-7 have been in usefor about two years, and surprisingly the under side of the bandsadjacent the stringer 64 are showing wear because the stringer isrotated out of position. Raising the stringer vertically would eliminatethis objection and could readily be done.

Also, in the models employing the second embodiment of the invention,FIGURES 8 through 11, it may turn out to be more desirable to mount justthe two inside stringers on the rails and fix the two outside stringersto the foot and head rails of the rectangular frame. For convenience inclaiming, referring to FIGURES 3, the rail 44 is referred to as thefront rail, the rail 42 as the foot rail, and the rails 38 and 40 as theside rails. It is to be expressly understood that the instant inventionis limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bed comprising a rectangular frame having foot, head and siderails, a plurality of substantially rigid, spaced, parallel stringerssupported at opposite ends on adjacent the foot and head rails, theupper surfaces of the stringers being substantially in a common plane,and a plurality of closely spaced, flexible bands fastened at theiropposite ends to the side rails and supported by said stringers and freeto slide thereover.

2. The bed of claim 1 wherein the flexible bands are parallel to eachother.

3. A sofa bed consisting of the bed of claim 1 together with a backsupport extending along and above the bands on one side of the frame,and means for lowering below the plane of the bands one of the stringersintermediate the side rails.

4. The sofa bed of claim 3 together with means for moving the backsupport from a position above the bands and a drive traininterconnecting the back support and the lowering means whereby movingthe back support away from a position over the bands actuates thelowering means to restore the lower stringer to its upper position.

5. The sofa bed of claim 4 wherein the lowering means is held in itsupper position by a spring, wherein the back support is pivoted on alongitudinal axis so that it may be swung away from a position above theframe, and wherein the drive train is a cable held taut between thelowering means and the back support.

6. The sofa bed of claim 4 wherein the lowering means includes themounting of the stringer on pivots whose axes are normal to a linebetween foot and head rails and which are positioned beneath the top ofthe stringer so that the stringer may be rotated below the bands.

7. A sofa bed consisting of the bed of claim 1 wherein two angle ironsare positioned intermediate the foot rail and the stringers, said angleirons being parallel to the foot rail and pivoted thereto at their outerends with the adjacent ends of the stringers mounted on these rails, theends of the stringers adjacent the head rail being similarly mounted onsimilarly pivoted angle irons, and means for raising and lowering thefree ends of the angle irons.

8. A sofa bed comprising a rectangular frame having foot, head and siderails, a plurality of substantially rigid, spaced, parallel stringerssupported at opposite ends adjacent the foot and head rails, the uppersurfaces of the stringers being substantially in a common plane, flat,flexible means stretched over said stringers and fastened along eachside to one side rail, and means for lowering below the plane of theflexible means one of the stringers intermediate the side rails.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 81,358 9/1868 Garretson 5-215 X120,881 11/1871 Johnson 5-215 151,062 5/1874 Taylor 5-215 2,792,5755/1957 Jorgensen et al. 5-58 X 2,894,266 7/1959 Gran 512 CASMIR A.NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

1. A BED COMPRISING A RECTANGULAR FRAME HAVING FOOT, HEAD AND SIDERAILS, A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY RIGID, SPACED, PARALLEL STRINGERSSUPPORTED AT OPPOSITE ENDS ON ADJACENT THE FOOT AND HEAD RAILS, THEUPPER SURFACES OF THE STRINGERS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY IN A COMMON PLANE,AND